Illuminating liquefied gas and method of treating distillation gases to produce the same.



No. 862,888. PATENTED AUG. 6, 1907..

v H. BLAU. ILLUMINATING LIQUEPIED GAS AND METHOD OF TREATINGDISTILLATION GASES TO PRODUCE THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 31, 1904.

Qvbtwwmz fzwmm 23M Jm uunl'oz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN BLAU, or AUGSBURG, GERMANY.

ILLUMINATING LIQUEFIED GAS AND METHOD OF TREATING DISTILLATION GASES TOPRODUCE THE SAME.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1907.

Application and October 31, 1904. Serial No. 230,881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN BLAU, a subject of the German Emperor, and aresident of Augsburg, Germany, have invented a certain new and usefulimprovement in illuminating liquefied gases and methods of treatingdistillation gases to produce the same in a highly-compressed formsuitable for transport, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention has reference to illuminating liquefied gases and tomethod of treating distillation gases to obtain an illuminating gas in ahighly compressed form suitable for transport.

The compressed, liquid, illuminating gas, produced according to thisinvention, is of such concentration and small volume, compared with itsilluminating power, that the cost of transportation thereof, even for.great distances, does not materially increase the price of the gas. Y I

In the accompanying drawing, an elevation, forming part of thisspecification, A is a tank; B an inlet pipe or conduit; 0 a retort; D areceptacle; a a pipe connecting 0 and D; E a cooler; F a cleaner; b apipe connecting E and F, G' a receptacle; HH a compressor; 0 a pipeconnecting H with F and vGr; J a cooler; d an outlet pipe from thecompressor H which passes in the form of a coil through the cooler J andthence into the vessel K; e an outlet pipe for gases from the vessel K;f an outlet pipe for liquid gases from the vessel K' leading into thecontainer L; y g are inlet pipes for water or other cooling substanceand hh are outlet pipes therefor. v

The arrows of the drawing indicate the directions in which the gases andliquids flow.

X is a motor.

Illuminating gas, as is well known, is usually conveyed from the placewhere it is generated, 1'. e.-the gas-works, through a centralizednetwork of pipes laid in an area wherein the individual consumers arecon gregated more or less densely, as in towns and cities,

For conveyance in closed cylinders or vessels, illuminating gas, in viewof its considerable volume, does not in normal circumstances lenditself. In cases where this is done, for -example, for the purpose oflighting railway carriages, the gas (oil gas, for instance,)

is compressed under a pressure of from 8 to T2 atmos pheres into ironcylinders or holders which are made as thin as possible and in which thegas occupies one eighth to one twelfth of its original volume. The gasis supplied to the burnersas required through suitable pressure reducingmechanism.

The attempts which have been made by compressing the gas under apressure of, say, 100 or 150 atmospheres to attain a correspondinglyhigher concentration of illuminating gas and thereby make its transportto cessiul on account of the fact that by such compressionthehomogeneity of the mixture of gases of which ordinary illuminating gasconsists is lost, inasmuch as the hydrocarbons which are suspended in itin the form of vapor are condensed into a liquid, the quantity of whichincreases the higher the pressure is raised. Thereby at the same timethe combustible and illuminating qualities of the gas are alsocorrespondingly diminished, this, according'to the researches made byPintsch withreference to oil gas, amounting, at a pressure of only tenatmospheres, to from 25 to 44%.

In carbureting apparatus the combustible quality of the gas can ofcourse be restored in a measureafter its escape from the cylinder at thepressure at which it is to be used; but the employment of a process ofthis kind leads to complications which render the advantages offered bya gaseous illuminantyowing to the and only those constituents, which,after compression,

remain in a gaseous form, are led into suitable cylinders or othercontainers for use as an illuminating gas,

while the constituents turned into a liquid form are discarded.Accordingto this invention the process is the opposite; thoseconstituents of the gas, which, after compression, separate as a liquid,are drawn off, together with those constituentswhich, as hereinafterdescribed, have been absorbed thereby or'dis'solved therein, intobottles of steel or. other suitable containers for use as anilluminating gas, while the remaining non-liquefied constituents areutilized for any other purpose for which they may be adapted.

The hereinafter described process, which forms the subject-matter of myinvention, besid es'utilizing the capability of the gases to take up orabsorb a large quantity of the more volatile hydrocarbons in the form ofvapor and thus form therewith a homogeneous gas-mixture,

takes advantage also of aproperty of the oil -particularly that alreadyreferred to abovewhich condenseshydrocarbons from distillation gasesproduced at very low temperature. have the power of absorbing under ahigher pressure those distillation gases with the exception of a certainexcess, chiefly permanent constituents (GH H to such an extent that thequantity of gas dissolved or absorbed sufiices onlescaping from thecylinderat the pressure of the main pipe and the normal temperature tochange the heavyhydrocarbons, excepting a small residue of those 'mostdifiicult to volatilize, into their gaseous form. Inthis, it must beobserved, it is necessary that the mixture of liquefied hydrocarbons betaken from the cylinder-in the fluid condition under as near as possibleconstant pressure and conducted 1 5 transport is most easilyaccomplished iromsuch distilthrough pressure-reducingdevices, wherebythe whole 5 of the liquid again passes over into its gaseous state.

The products of distillation obtained at a very low temperature andfreed from those constituents which are mostdiflicult to volatilize bycooling, or washing with oil, are. in so far the most suitable for ourpurpose that they, on the one hand, contain a large, proportion of fluidhydrocarbon compounds (C,H etc.) with a very low boiling point, whichafter condensation under pressure are capableoi dissolving or absorbingavery 5 large volume of gas, and, on the. other hand, also contain aconsiderable proportion of those gaseous hydrocarbons, s'o that theproduction of a mixture having the properties of an illuminating'g'as inasuitable form for lation products.

The ioi'egoing description' oithe presentinvention will'readily beunderstood by those skilled in the aI't tO which. theinventionappertains. In further explanation of the invention and in illustrationof one form of means whereby the process of the invention may becarriedinto effect, the following in'ay be added The present inventioninvolves the following three theoretical principles i 1 Most, if notallfgases dissolve in liquidsand the nearer the gases are, chemicallyand physically, to the liquids, the greater is the quantity oijthe gaseswhich may be dissolved in the liquids.

(3); A readily volatile liquidbrought into contact with a gas, atatmo'spherical pressure or at-a'pressure a little above theatmospherical pr'essure, from one to two atmospheres, for example, turnsinto gas or carburets completely, by evaporation, without artificial.heating or increasing'the temperature, if the volume of thegas issufficiently great compared to the volume oi the liquid.

In the production oi a transportable illuminating gas, according to thisinvention, the foregoing three principles are utilized, as will readilybe understood by those skilled in the art, 'in the mannerabove'described.

The effect oi'the three principles in this invention may,

- however, be stated as follows:-

' gasesand oireadilyvolatile combustibleliquids. The

liquids are, chemically and physically, closelyrelatod to the gases andin the form of vapor are contained in the gases. In other words, adistillation gas of a most high illuminating power is produced, therebyobtaining the primal conditions of the first arid third theoretical principles above set forth.

-(b) The substance mixture or distiilation gas described in thepreceding paragraph (a) is compressed,

whereby, first,the vaporous substanccsare separated in a liquid form andgases or gaseous constituents are discarbons which are most readilysoluble in liquid hydroproportional way, with the increase oi pressureto. which 7 solved in theliquid, .in accordance with the first andsecond theoretical principles above set forth.

(c) In order to dissolve, in the liquid so great a volume of the gas,the pressure employed, according to the statement oi the precedingparagraph (b), is so high that the liquid of the gases, upon thedischarge at atmosphorical pressure, or at a pressure which is a littleabove atmospherical pressure, is again taken up in the iorrn of vapor bycarburetization, except a possible, small residue, so that the wholeconstitutes a homogeneous gas mixture, whereby the third principle isfulfilled.

. 'Under distillation gases are to be understood all gases produced fromorganical raw: material, such as wood, peat, bituminous coal, vegetableand ,mineral oils, etc. The distillation gases may be produced in 4' anywell known manner, as by heating material, such as'the raw materialsmentioned, under the exclusion of 'air in glowingretorts or generators.The main,

chemicalconstituents of the distillation-gases, from mineral oils, forexample, are, as is well known, beside methane (CH and hydrogen (H,),the higher molecular, gaseous, volatile'and liquid hydrocarbons oi themethane and ethylenegroups, such as ethan (Q 11 p p n 3 3) u n (a so pt-. n) m (CGHM), ethylene (C l-I propylene (C3HG),- butylene (C;,Hamylene (G H etc'. I

"Accordingto this invention, the gasification should, contrary to theusual method, and in order to secure the best results, be carried so farthat there are thereby produced especially the above'me'ntioned, nearlyrelated higher, molecular,-gaseous volatile and liquid hydrocarbons ofthe methane and ethylene groups, in a proportional large quantity,thirty to fifty per cent. of the volume, while the quantity of themethane and' hydrogen is diminished. The ga'sificationshould also takeplacepreferablyat very low temperatures, temperatures. which, .with someraw materials, should start at 450 Celsius and with none should exceed800 Oel-' S uB, W ereas, as is well known, for the production of" coalgas, temperatures of from 900 to.l2()0 Celsius are used, 1 q

For separatingthe liquid, illuminating gas from the kind of raw materialand upon the form and propordistillation gases produced and purified asdescribed, pressure of from 100 r0150 atmospheres is.-entirelysuificient'. If, during the gasification-process, there is observed aconstant temperature,. depending upon the v tions of the apparatus,which starts the decomposition with such a low thermal .energy that, forexamplepif rectified petroleum be used, ten per cent. by weight can beobtained in gaseous form, it is possible to lower substantially thepressure and still to obtain a product of the qualities of theliqi1id,*illuminating gas; but a I g (a) A substance mixture is'producedoi combustible I pressure, which is less than twenty-five atmospheres,is not sufficient to-obtai'n the desired practical, useful product,whatever may have been the starting material usedfor the gasificationand however the temperaturejor' it may have been reduced.- Illustratedin the drawing, forming part. of this specification, is one form ofapparatus or means which may be employed for carrying out the process ofthis invention. The tank A- contains pure petroleum of any ori-' gin,which proceeds, through the inlet B, to the retort (1, heated from belowto the inner temperature-of 550 600 Celsius, and is gasified therein.The gasification products pass out of the retort, by the annexedconnecting pipes, a, into the receptacle D, and from there into thecooler E, in which the gases are cooled down,

by any artificial cooling, as by water, to 10 Celsius 7 liberated bychemicals, in the well known way, from the detrimental parts M 5, ()0,ON, etc.) The receptacle (1?, connected by the outlet pipe system b t Fci vos a a balance between the pr du tion of liqnely methane, anddissolving in the liquid constituents constituents which are capable ofbeing dissolved therein,

gas and the withdrawal thereof by the compressor H, which sucks up thegas and compresses it to 150 atmospheres. The heat, liberated by thecompression, is taken off under the cooling action of water in thecooler J, through which the gas passes in a tubular coil; Under thecontemporaneous influence of the pressure and cooling action of water,the liquid gas separates and disunites, lrom the non-liquefied,permanent gases, in the vessel K. The separation goes on in such away,that, first, the readily volatile hy drocarbons (hexan, heptan, amyieneand hexylene, etc.), which are liquid at atmospherical pressure andnormal temperature and which in the original substance mixture aresuspended in the form of vapor, are separated as a liquid, while, in thefurther action, the gaseous hydrocarbons (ethan, ethylene, etc) whichare chemically and physically related to these liquid hydrocarbons, witha small quantity of the permanent gases, methane and hydrogen, aredissolved in the former, while the principal quantity of the methane andhydrogen is separated in a gaseous form above the liquid. The notliquefied gases are taken off by e for any use, while the liquefiedgases are drawn off, through f, into suitable vessels L for transport.If the whole contents of L is discharged slowly at atmospheric pressureand atmospheric temperature, there remains sometimes only 0.5% but nevermore than 10% of liquid residue not turned into gaseous form, whichfully complies with the practical demands which we can put upon such aproduct.

From the foregoing description of the present invention, it will beclear, to those skilled in the art, that variations may be made indetails without departing from the main features of the invention.

Obviously the liquefied gas, made in accordance with this invention,can, in the usual manner, as by admixture of air, be employed for theproduction of a non-luminous flame of great heating power adapted toheat to incandescence Welsbach mantels or other suitable objects andfor'numerous other purposes.

Having now fully described my said invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent is:

i. The method of producing illuminating liquefied gases, consisting inliquefying constituents of distillation gases which are capable of beingliquefied at a pressure and temperature insufficient to liquefy methane,and dissolving in the liquid constituents constituents which are capableof being dissolved therein, substantially as'descrlbed.

L. The method of producing illuminating liquefied gases, consisting inliquefying constituents of distillation gases produced at a lowtemperature which are capable of being liquefied at a pressure andtemperature insuflicient lo liquefy methane, and dissolving in theliquid constituents constituents which are capable of being dissolvedtherein. substantially as described.

ii. The method of producing illuminating liquefied gases,

\ consisting in freeing products of distillation from those conslllucntsthereof which are most difficult to volatilize,

lhcn liqucl'ying constituents which are capable of being liqocficd at. apressure and temperature insuilicient to substantially as described.

4. The method of producing illuminating liquefied gases, consisting inliquelying hydrocarbons of distillation gases capable of being liquefiedat a pressure and temperature insuilicient to liqueiy methane, and underhigher pressure than is necessary for the liquefaction of thehydrocarbons causing the liquefiedhydrocarbons to absorb distillationgases lo such an extent that the gases absorbed thereby will, onsuitable reduction of the pressure, change the liquefied hydrm-arbonssubstantially into their gaseous form, substantially as described.

5. The method of producing illuminating, liquefied gases, consisting infirst obtaining the products of distillation at a low lemperature, thenliqueiying hydrocarbons thereof capable of being liquefied at a pressureand temperature insui'licient to liquefy methane, and underhigherpressure than is necessary for the liquefaction of the hydrocarbonscausing the liquefied hydrocarbons to absorb distillation gases to suchan extent that the gases absorbed thereby will. on suitable reduction ofthe pressure, change the liquefied hydrocarbons substantially into theirgaseous form, substantially as described.

(i. The method oiproducing illuminating liquefied gases, consisting infirst securing the products of distillation at a low temperature, andthen compressing under cooling action constituents thereof, consistingof hydrocarbons capable of being liquefied at a pressure and temperatureinsufiicient t'o liquefy methane and of distillation gases, untildislillution gases are absorbed by the hydrocarbons and the wholereduced to a liquid, substantially as described. I

7. An illuminating liquefied gas, consisting of liquefied constituentsof distillation gases and of constituents of distillation gases absorbedby the liquefied constituents, substantially as described.

8. An illuminating liquefied gas, consisting of iluid hydrocarbons andgaseous hydrocarbons and dislillation gases dissolved therein,substantially as described.

9. An illuminating liquefied gas, free from constituents most diiiicultto volatilize and consisting of fluid hydrocarbons and distillationgases dissolved therein, substantially as described.

10. An illuminating liquefied gas, consisting of liquefied constituentsof distillation gases and of such quantity of constituents'ofdistillation gases absorbed by the liquefied constituents as willsufiice on suitable reduction of the pressure to change the liquefiedconstituents substantially into their gaseous form, substantially asdescribed.

11. An illuminating liquefiedgas, free from constituents most dil'iicultto volatilize, and consisting of liquefied constltuents of distillationgases and of such quantity of constituents of distillation gasesabsorbed by the liquefied constituents as will suffice on suitablereduction of the pressure to change the liquefied constituentssubstantially into their gaseous form, substantially as described.

12. An illuminating liquefied gas, consisting of liquefied constituentsof distillation gases produced at a low temperature and of constituentsof distillation gases dissolved in the liquefied constituents,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my band in presence of twowitnesses.

IIERMANN BLAIR.

Witnesses 'lir. (litmus. A. know.

